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Arcanophage (CR +2)
Arcanophage (CR +2) Mana, the blood of Mystras and source of all arcane magic, is a part of every natural being's soul. Even a creature with no arcane ability whatsoever has some mana as an inherent, if small, part of them. For arcane spellcasters however, the soul is a well of mana from which they draw to fuel their magic. Typically, there are subconscious safeguards that prevent an individual from draining themselves completely of mana. Even a spellcaster who exhausts their every spell for days on end cannot push themselves so hard; there is simply a mental blockage from taxing one's self so heavily. It is unknown then, how mad the first arcanophage must have been, to have drunk so deeply and greedily from their own soul. When an arcane spellcaster is completely drained of mana, the experience is deeply traumatic-both physically and spiritually. The victim's skin turns pale blue, cracking and drying to give it the appearance of scales. What's more, the victim's spirit is permanently severed from mana, forevermore losing the ability to retain the stuff. The sheer shock to the soul of this process kills the victim, but has a chance to twist and bind that soul into their body, leaving them in a permanent state of half-death. Such unfortunate beings rise an hour later as arcanophages. An arcanophage is afflicted by a constant, maddening hunger for magic. They possess no loyalties, no honor, and no interests, other than the ravaging emptiness that they feel an irrepressible need to fill. Still, despite their urges, arcanophages are devastatingly clever, and patient. They hunt the world for magic items and magi, stalking potent casters for weeks and months, watching their every behavior. Watching to find a hole in even the most paranoid of defenses. Creating an Arcanophage "Arcanophage" is an acquired template that can be added to any living creature able to cast arcane spells, referred to hereafter as the base creature. An arcanophage retains all the base creature's statistics and special abilities except as noted here. *'CR' Same as base creature +2 *'Alignment' Always Neutral Evil. *'Type' The creature's type changes to Undead. Do not recalculate BAB, saves, or skill ranks. *'Senses' An arcanophage gains darkvision 60 ft. Defense *'Armor Class' An arcanophage's natural armor improves by +5. *'Hit Dice' Change all racial HD to d8s. Class HD are unaffected. As Undead, arcanophages use their Charisma modifier to determine bonus hit points (instead of Constitution). *'Defensive Abilities' An arcanophage gains channel resistance +4; DR 10/magic and silver; and immunity to cold and electricity (in addition to those granted by its undead traits). Offense *'Attacks' An arcanophage retains all the natural weapons, manufactured weapon attacks, and weapon proficiencies of the base creature. It also gains a slam attack appropriate for its size. *'Spellcasting' An arcanophage loses the ability to cast arcane spells, but still retains all the spells it knew, as well as the ability to prepare spells if it had it in life. If the arcanophage could learn spells from familiars, scrolls, or spellbooks, they also retain this ability. *'Special Attacks' Arcanophages gain the grab special attack, usable with their slam attack against creatures of their size or smaller. Arcanophages also gain the following special attacks. Save and check DCs are equal to (DC 10 + 1/2 the arcanophage's HD + the arcanophage's Charisma modifier) 'unless otherwise noted. :: An arcanophage can disrupt and draw the magical energies of a spell towards their mouth, consuming the very mana that it's comprised of. Whenever an arcanophage is within 30 ft. of an arcane spell that is being cast, is one of the targets of an arcane spell, or is in the area of effect of an arcane spell, they may attempt to consume the spell as an immediate action. The caster of the spell must make a caster level check or lose the spell, allowing the arcanophage to consume it. A spell consumed in this way adds a number of mana points to the arcanophage's mana pool equal to the level of the consumed spell. :: An arcanophage can consume the mana directly from a spellcasting creature. If the arcanophage establishes or maintains a pin on an arcane spellcaster, it attempts to drain magical energy from the creature, which appears as thin blue mist that flows up from the victim's eyes and mouth. The arcanophage selects one spellcasting class the creature has each time they attempt to drain mana. The pinned creature then must make a Will save or lose one random prepared spell or spell slot of the highest level they have remaining from that class, and suffer 1d4 points of ability drain to that class' spellcasting ability score. This adds a number of mana points to the arcanophage's mana pool equal to the level of the spell lost, or equal to the ability drain if the vicitm has no remaining spells in that class. :: If any of the victim's arcane spellcasting ability scores reaches 0 as a result of this drain, the victim becomes completely drained of mana. The victim convulses violently, their skin cracking and turning pale blue as they die. There is then a 30% chance that the victim rises one hour later as a new arcanophage. A creature killed in this manner cannot be resurrected, and any effect that attempts to do so guarantees that they rise as an arcanophage. The only way to safely return a drained creature to life is to slay them if they have risen an arcanophage, then use a ''miracle, wish, or similar effect to restore their connection to mana before resurrecting them. :: Additionally, an arcanophage can consume the energies of a magic item they are holding to add one mana point to their mana pool. This is a full-round action that provokes attacks of opportunity. A magic item can be drained this way a number of times equal to '''(its market value in GP/1,000; minimum 1) before it is completely drained, losing all magical abilities. An artifact or intelligent item can attempt a Will save''' to resist the drain, but most items are defenseless against the arcanophage's hunger. :: Although it cannot truly retain mana anymore, an arcanophage can maintain a fleeting hold on any magic it drains from the world. Whenever an arcanophage consumes a spell or drains mana, it adds mana points to its mana pool. There is no upper limit to the number of mana points the pool can contain, but points fade from the pool 1 hour after they are added. As a swift action, an arcanophage can spend any number of points from its mana pool to activate one of the two following abilities: **'''Cast Spells An arcanophage can spend points from their mana pool to temporarily regain their spellcasting ability. For 1 round, the arcanophage can cast spells as they could in life, but only up to a spell level equal to or less than the number of mana points they spent to activate this ability. **'Reinvigorate' An arcanophage can spend points from their mana pool to reinvigorate and heal themselves. The arcanophage gains fast healing 5 for a number of rounds equal to the number of mana points they spent to activate this ability. *'Special Qualities' An arcanophage gains the following special quality. ::An arcanophage can climb sheer surfaces as though under the effects of a spider climb spell. Statistics *'Ability Scores' Str +6; Dex +4; Int +4; Wis +2; Cha +4. As an Undead creature, an arcanophage has no Constitution score. *'Skills' Arcanophages gain a +8 racial bonus to Perception, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, and Stealth checks. *'Feats' Arcanophages gain Alertness, Improved Grapple, Improved Initiative, and Toughness as bonus feats. Additional Information Ecology *'Environment' any, as base creature *'Organization' solitary, or group of 1-5 *'Treasure' as base creature, plus a number of partially-drained wondrous items Arcanophages wander the world, looking for powerful magi and magic items to hunt. They may set up temporary lairs in a hidden area near their prey, but they only stay in the same place as long as they think they are likely to find a source of magic to drain there. Sometimes arcanophages form loose allegiances, hoping to share in the draining of an especially powerful magical source. Category:Creatures Creature Templates Category:Undead Creatures